Russia launched its first mission to the Moon’s surface in nearly 50 years, aiming to be the first country to land on the lunar south pole.
Russia’s Luna 25 mission
The Luna 25 mission from Moscow took off on time from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia’s Far East. The Moon’s south pole is thought to have water deposits.
The Russian mission is competing with India, which launched its own lander last month and is currently orbiting the Moon.
The lander is expected to land on August 21, according to Russia’s space chief. As of earlier this week, India’s Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft was scheduled to land on the moon on August 23.
In 1976, Luna-24 returned to Earth. Russia hopes to rejoin the race to the Moon with the launch of Luna-25.
At 7:10 p.m. ET on Thursday (2:10 a.m. local time on Friday), Luna-25 was launched aboard a Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Amur Oblast, Russia.
The spacecraft will take about five days to reach lunar orbit and another five days before attempting to land on the moon on August 21.
“I hope that a highly precise soft landing on the Moon will take place,” Yuri Borisov, head of Russia’s space agency Roscosmos told workers at the Vostochny cosmodrome after the launch, according to Reuters. “We hope to be first.”
Luna-25 has a four-legged base and is expected to operate on the lunar surface for a year if it successfully lands.
The mission’s primary goal is to aid in the development of lunar landing technologies, as well as to investigate the composition of the polar regolith and the plasma and dust components of the lunar polar exosphere.
The lunar south pole is of great interest to nations hoping to establish a presence on the lunar surface, with evidence indicating that this region of the Moon may contain ice reservoirs that could be used for drinking water, fuel, or oxygen production.
To read our blog on “India’s Chandrayaan-3 landing mission has entered lunar orbit,” click here